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Help Crack the Cannery Case during Spring Break!

This Spring Break, from March 18 to 29, families will have fun working together to find clues and solve a Cannery crime. Standing in front of the Cannery Manager’s Office inside the Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site, you can imagine how distraught the manager must have been in March 1930 when he discovered $500 had been stolen from his office. The police were called, but the investigation is ongoing. More detectives are needed to finally solve this crime. Was the Cannery Manager really at the Opera when the crime occurred? Was the watchman lying when he said he saw no one enter or exit the building? Sift through the evidence to decide.

This history mystery is inspired by a real robbery that occurred nearby 70 years ago just across the river in Ladner, BC. Our mystery is set in 1930, a time when many canneries were closing down because of the Great Depression and the increase in refrigeration and freezing which was making canned salmon less popular. The Gulf of Georgia Cannery was one of the canneries that stopped canning salmon in 1930. Visit the historic canning line and explore the nooks and crannies of this former cannery to imagine what life must have been like back in the ‘old days’.

The Mystery in the Museum activity will be offered on a drop-in basis between March 18 to 29, 2019 — a detective kit will be supplied with each Adult admission, for families and friends to work on together. The activity is designed for ages 7 and up, but can be enjoyed by younger children with the help of an adult or older siblings/friends.

Kids 6-11 years may also request a Parks Canada Xplorer activity booklet, for another fun way to enjoy the historic Cannery. Guided heritage tours will be provided as usual, for those who would like to learn more about the history of the Cannery and Canada’s west coast fishing industry.